Just Sleeping
by avengellie
Summary: Years after SHIELD, Natasha and Clint try to live a normal life. If not for their sake (and sanity), for the sake of their 8 year-old daughter, Lucy. But as the pair learned long ago, things don't always work out they way you plan.
1. Chapter 1

_So this is only my second-ever scary fic type deal, but I kinda dig the horror/suspense genre, so I'm gonna keep goin' with it and see how it goes..? -E_

* * *

Her legs hurt. Her feet were throbbing. Her back ached. Her head was pounding.

But at long last, Natasha finally got to go home after a nightmare-ish day of work.

"You work tomorrow?" One of her coworkers asked as Nat was walking to the door.

"Unfortunately," she sighed before giving her coworker a small smirk. "Good luck with the rest of the night."

"Yeah, yeah," the other woman rolled her eyes and smiled. "See you tomorrow!" They had been freakishly busy at their store all day, a large majority of their customers being either extremely difficult, extremely old and unable to hear a damn thing, or extremely rude. One man even went so far as to tell Natasha she should be fired for not being able to fix his problem quickly enough to satisfy him.

She moaned softly in relief as she sat down in her car and gently massaged her temples, attempting to numb the pain at least a little bit. At least now she got to go home and see her _darling_ husband Clint, who was probably passed out on the couch with the tv still on, anyways. A small smile appeared on her face as she thought about curling up next to him on the couch; him waking up for a moment, groggy, but still awake enough for a smile and to gently kiss her forehead before dozing off again. Their 8 year-old daughter, Lucy, would be asleep in her room, her small night light shining dimly through her bedroom.

Pulling onto the highway, she turned on the radio, stifling a yawn behind her hand.

"-What folks are referring to as-" Bored, she glanced at the dial and started flipping through the back up at the road she inhaled sharply and slammed on the breaks, nearly hitting the person that had just cut her off.

"Fuck!"

"-killer is very dangerous," the man on the radio paused. "We here at the station would like to remind you keep your children indoors and lock your doors at night." This time changing the station without taking her eyes off the road, she finally settled on a classical station.

After about twenty minutes, she finally turned into her driveway and parked her car. She glanced at the house and sighed softly.

"He's asleep," she mused to herself quietly as she turned the engine off. As her hand reached for the car door, she froze, her breath catching in her throat.

The front door of the house was open. '_He probably just forgot to close it all the way,' _she thought hopefully, her heart continuing to drop. '_He's fine.'_ Slowly and quietly, she opened the car door, clutching her keys tightly in her hand, not taking her eyes off the front door. '_They're fine. It's late. They're just sleeping, and Clint forgot to shut the door. They're fine.' _she repeated over and over to herself.

Natasha glanced at her phone for a moment to check when the last text from Clint was sent.

_[7:58 pm, Birdboy] Sorry your day's been shit. At least you've got a loving husband to come home to later tonight ;)_

She looked at the current time. _11:16 pm. _It had been a little over three hours. Something could have happened. Swallowing dryly, Nat lowered her phone, turning her attention back to the house as she slowly shut the car door. It had been years since their days at SHIELD, and she _knew_ Clint could handle himself. But still, the front door _was_ open, and all the lights in the house _were_ off, so there was still the small touch of doubt as she made her way to the house.

* * *

_(Me: quick what's a good name for a serial killer. Like. The _ killer.  
Friend: Fuck  
__Me: Fuck killer.  
__Friend: yyyyyyeeeeeaaaahhhhh  
__Me: I hope you realize I'm going to have to use that now.)_


	2. Chapter 2

Natasha walked into the house, looking around quickly, squinting in the darkness.

"Clint!" she whispered sharply, having not seen anything out of the ordinary. "_Clint!_" Exhaling slowly, she continued through the house, ready to strike at any second. There was a sudden crash coming from the kitchen, glass shattering to the tile floor causing her to freeze, holding her breath.

"_Tasha_?" Clint's breathy voice sounded from the dark kitchen.

"Oh, thank _god_," she sighed quickly in relief as she jogged into the kitchen. "Why did you leave the…" Natasha's voice trailed off as she stopped in the doorway of the perfectly lit kitchen. "...door… open…. Did you just turn the lights on?" She looked at Clint, confusion all over her face. Clint simply stared at her, his mouth hanging open, his eyes slightly widened.

"_Oh, god_," he breathed out before clearing his throat quickly, glancing at the light switch a few feet away from where he stood, a plate of food smashed at his feet. "Yeah, I…" he cleared his throat again, quickly going to grab the paper towels to clean his mess up. "was just getting something to eat. Didn't bother with the light. Bumped into the counter and dropped it," he said, chuckling quietly. Natasha's eyebrows furrowed as she watched him, wondering why he felt it necessary to lie to her.

"Why did you leave the front door open?" she questioned again, pointing behind her towards the hallway.

"The front door?" Clint stopped, looking at her for a moment before quickly continuing cleaning the food from the floor. "I left the front door open?"

"Yeah, wide-" She stopped short, looking behind her shoulder to the now lit hallway, seeing the front door shut. Pausing a moment, she quickly made her way down the hall. Making sure to stop in each room she passed, she looked for signs of an intruder, finding nothing in the normally-lit rooms. Reaching the front door, she opened it quickly and stepped out onto yard. Her car was missing. Breath hitching in her throat, she span on her heel, jogging back into the house, the door closing behind her.

"Clint! What's going on?!" Natasha's voice trailed off as she glanced around, seeing now only moon-lit rooms, stripped bare of all their furniture and possessions. "_Wh-_ _Clint?_" Her eyes were wide as she ran back to the kitchen, finding it completely empty. She quickly went to the light switch and flipped it up, but the light refused to turn on. Breathing quickly, she flipped it quickly several more times, the light still remaining off.

Her mind suddenly went to her daughter- probably terrified and alone upstairs. Bolting out of the room, she found the stairs and went up them two at a time.

"Lucy?! _Clint?!_" She paused at Lucy's closed door. She was just over tired. Or maybe she had gotten home and had a few drinks with Clint and she was drunk. _Or_ _maybe_, just as she originally planned, she got home and found Clint asleep on the couch. She cuddled up with him and fell asleep, and this was a nightmare. _That had to be it. This was a nightmare_. But if it wasn't a nightmare and she was just overtired- or drunk- she shouldn't scare Lucy. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself and swallowed the lump in her throat. She would find Lucy asleep in her bed, the covers pulled up just above her shoulders, the nightlight shining dimly through the darkness, just like normal.

Natasha grabbed the doorknob, her fingers trembling slightly as she slowly turned it. Pausing again, she held her breath as she opened the door to her daughter's room. Poking her head inside, she felt her heart drop. _Empty._ The entire room- just like the ones downstairs- had been stripped bare. All of Lucy's furniture was gone; all her toys, her books, the posters had been torn down carelessly from the walls, some of the tacks still remaining. Natasha flung the door open wide and tried calling for her family again. Quickly tearing through every room upstairs and trying the lower floor again, she still could find no sign of them- or any sign they had lived here in months. The house was cold- without electricity, plumbing or heating. _Clearly_ this wasn't real. She was dreaming.

Natasha slammed her back against a wall, her breath coming in short, small gasps, her hands pressed to her head. Sliding down the wall, she brought her knees to her chest.

"Wake up," she commanded herself. "Wake up. Wake up. _Wake up. Wake up. Wake. Up._"


	3. Chapter 3

When Natasha woke, she was laying on the couch. The TV was off, soft sunlight coming through the window. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she slowly sat up. Blinking a few times as her eyes adjusted, she glanced down, seeing she was still in the same clothes she worked in the night before. Freezing, she looked around the room. She sighed in relief as she leaned her head back against the couch. Everything was back in it's place. Everything was normal.

"No. It was only once, and... It's been a few months," she heard Clint's hushed voice from the hallway. "I… I'm not sure if I can do this." Sitting up straight again, Natasha listened to the conversation her husband was having over the phone. "You're _positive_ it'll… It'll help?" He sounded nervous. His voice got even quieter. "Okay. Okay, thank you. Alright. Bye." She heard him sigh and she glanced towards the doorway. After a few moments of silence he walked in.

"What was that all about?" Natasha's head tilted to the side slightly as she watched him, her voice soft. Clint almost flinched, glancing toward the window before looking at her, smiling slightly.

"Doctor," he answered simply, nodding once. Hesitating, he made his way over to her on the couch and sat next to her. "Thinks I should come in for… For a prostate exam." Making a face he slowly put an arm around Natasha's shoulders, his body tense.

"A _prostate exam,_" she repeated, trying not to crack a smile. "How… _Normal_." Natasha teased, cuddling up to him. Very slowly, she felt his body start to relax. Looking at him, she sighed softly, moving her arms around him. "I'm sure you're going to be fine, Clint."

"Mmm," Clint glanced at her, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. He paused a moment before gently placing a kiss on the top of her head. "I hope so." Natasha's mind began to drift to the night before.

"Hey, before I forget," she glanced up at him curiously. "Were you up when I got home last night?"

"What?" Clint blinked at her, his eyebrows bowing up the slightest bit before he looked away. "Oh, I don't think so." He shook his head slowly and glanced at the ceiling as he thought. "No, no I woke up this morning and you were here."

"That's so weird," Natasha mused, glancing towards the window. "I must've been _really_ out of it, then, because I don't remember it at _all_." Clint chuckled softly.

"Rough day at work?" Natasha smiled briefly as she nodded.

"I _do_ remember this _crazy_ dream I had, though. I got home and the door was wide open and all the lights were off. But I went inside and you were in the kitchen. So I go over, suddenly all the lights are on. And you were acting _weird._ You were trying to convince me you had the lights off while making food, _dropped it on the floor,_ and _then_ turned the lights on…" she laughed softly, shaking her head. The muscles in Clint's jaw twitched slightly as he listened, following her gaze to the window. "And when I came in the house, I left the door open, but when I looked back at it, it's closed and _all the lights are on_. So I go back outside, and my car's gone? So I go back _inside_, and suddenly everything in the house is gone. Everything's dark. There's no furniture. Nothing. No sign of you or Lucy…"

"That _is_ weird," Clint agreed, nodding slightly, looking down at her.

"Where is Lucy, anyways?" Natasha asked, glancing at the clock. "She can't still be in bed, can she?"

"It's… Tasha, it's Tuesday morning, she's at school." Natasha looked at him, confused.

"No, it's Sunday? I had that 12-10 shift yesterday. Saturday." Sitting up again, Natasha shifted her position to face him. "Clint, where's Lucy?" Clint avoided looking at her for a few moments before slowly taking his phone out again. He pressed the button to turn the screen on and showed her.

"Tuesday," he said simply and she blinked at the screen.

"But it… I _swear_… I _swear it was Sunday_." Clint slowly shook his head again as he put his phone away.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked quickly, looking at her with concern, he brought his hand to her forehead gently. He let a sharp breath out slowly as he took his hand back. "...I think you might have a fever."  
"Well, I…" Natasha trailed off, looking more confused before thinking about it. "I _guess_ I wasn't feeling well after work… And I _did_ have a crazy dream…" She shrugged a shoulder. "It's possible."

"I think you should probably go up to bed," Clint glanced almost eagerly towards the doorway before looking back at her. "I can bring you some breakfast if you're hungry?" Natasha hummed softly at the offer, following Clint's gaze.

"I _suppose_ I could… Could stay in bed for a _while_… But there's no way I'm staying in bed _all day_," she finished firmly and Clint chuckled.

"Alright, alright. But if you start looking woozy," he pointed at her, raising his eyebrows. "It's back to bed with you!" Natasha laughed softly and nodded.

"Riiiiight, okay." Standing up, she immediately began to feel dizzy, dark spots quickly starting to cloud her vision.

"Tasha?" She heard Clint call, but he sounded distant. She felt a hand on her back. "_Natasha!_" Another hand brushed hair from her eyes. Everything quickly went black as her legs gave out from under her. She waited for the floor to meet her as feeling of the hand on her back disappeared, but it never came.


End file.
